TOO LATE, TOO LATE BLUES — Newly Discovered Titles & Alternate Takes ★ Volume 1 • 1926-1944 | DOCD-5150 (1993) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD initiated a logical series for the Document label. The company's goal of reissuing every single prewar recording has resulted in hundreds of valuable CDs being reissued. Inevitably, there were new discoveries of music after the fact, so this series consists of previously unreleased titles, alternate takes, and discoveries. Vol. 1 has selections from Blind Blake ("Early Morning Blues"), Blind Lemon Jefferson ("Lock Step Blues" and "Hangman's Blues"), George "Bullet" Williams, Bessie Tucker, the Memphis Jug Band, Willie Baker, Rev. D.C. Rice, Charlie Spand, Robert Peeples, Charley Patton (an alternate of "I Shall Not Be Moved"), Big Bill Broonzy, Frank Brasswell, Memphis Minnie, the team of Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom Dorsey, Bo Carter, Joe McCoy, Kokomo Arnold (a test pressing of his famous "Milk Cow Blues"), Little Buddy Doyle, and Lonnie Johnson. More general blues collectors should explore the more obvious releases first, but specialists will find these 26 performances (and those in later CDs included in this series) to be quite fascinating. Scott Yanow

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Document strives to preserve and present each artist’s oeuvre in a concise, logical format that will make it available for further enjoyment and study for many years to come. Inevitably, however, some items do turn up and become available to Document after (or perhaps even because) the major alcum issue is released. It is only then that some collectors realize what rare and unusual items they already have in their collections, and they make them available for Document to share with the larger community. This issue, then, acts as a clearing house to preserve and expand on what has previously been available, and also can serve as a sampler of artists that have been featured. These additional items fall into several main categories. The Rev. D. C. Rice test pressing was one I had a dub of for some ten years, but I realized only in hindsight that it was not generally known to exist. When I sent it to Document, it turned out that technical limitations (absolute album playing time) precluded its earlier use in any case, but this is a case of better late than never. I think it was Bob Dixon who pointed out this fact of life for the compiler; as soon as the work is completed as much and as well as possible, in come the corrections and additions to keep him humble and constantly on the lookout for more. Some of these are items that have only been found in the last year or so. One of these Big Bill’s is a case in point, having been picked up in a lot that was brought in “off the street” for disposal. Richard Hite sold the 78 to Pete Wielan who made it available. Mike Kirsling has made available items that he found in the great Paramount test lot of several years ago, but which he retained. Now they will be available. Several items have been tracked down via the Rarest 78’s column in 78 Quarterly. Those we’ve been able to contact have been most generous and forthcoming to help make this (and, indeed, the whole series in general) as complete and good sounding as it is. As for the question of alternate takes, Document has been including them when they are aurally different. The Charley Patton -2 included here is an exception – not noticeably different to our ears, but a better copy in any case. Some of these alternates come to our attention aurally, as in the case of Memphis Minnie‘s Reachin’ Pete, of which only one take was thought to exist. So we know for sure that some people at least listen to these issues with intense concentration. No doubt there are interesting stories behind each item presented here, but here are included the newly found, newly recognized, and newly offered items and the background of only a few of them. In conclusion, we dedicate this issue to you, the listener, who makes this task of retrieval, preservation and presentation such a labor of love for us all. DOCD-5150
Tracklist :
1    Blind Blake–    Early Morning Blues (3057-2)    2:57
2    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Lock Step Blues (20750)    3:05
3    Blind Lemon Jefferson–    Hangman's Blues (20751-2)    3:04
4    George "Bullet" Williams–    Frisco Leaving Birmingham (Take 3)    2:52
5    Bessie Tucker–    My Man Has Quit Me (Take 2) 3:08
Piano – K.D. Johnson
6    Memphis Jug Band–    Stealin' Stealin' (Take 3) 3:07
Vocals [Group Vcl] – Memphis Jug Band
7    Willie Baker–    Weak-Minded Woman (14782 - Test)    3:04
8    Rev. D.C. Rice–    Will They Welcome Me There? (Test) 3:17
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Tambourine – Unknown Artist
Triangle – Unknown Artist
Trombone – Unknown Artist
Trumpet – Unknown Artist
9    Charlie Spand–    Levee Camp Man (Breakdown) (Take 6 - Test)    1:31
10    Charlie Spand–    Mississippi Blues (Take V6 - Test)    2:49
11    Robert Peeples–    Worry Blues (Test)    2:39
12    Charley Patton–    I Shall Not Be Moved (Take 2)    3:02
13    Big Bill–    Bow Leg Baby 2:38
Piano – Georgia Tom Dorsey
14    Frank Brasswell–    Mountain Jack Blues (16575) 2:26
Piano – Unknown Artist
15    Memphis Minnie–    Memphis Minnie-Jitis Blues (Take B) 3:15
Guitar – Kansas Joe McCoy
16    Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom–    Do It Some More    3:11
17    Kansas City Kitty & Georgia Tom–    Knife Man Blues    3:11
18    Bo Carter–    New Auto Blues    3:02
19    Big Bill–    Worried In Mind Blues    3:00
20    Joe McCoy–    Meat Cutter Blues (Alternate Take) 3:08
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie McCoy
21    Joe McCoy–    What's The Matter With You? 2:55
Piano – Jimmie Gordon
22    Memphis Minnie–    Reachin' Pete (Take B)    3:10
23    Kokomo Arnold–    Milk Cow Blues – No. 5 (Test)    2:44
24    Memphis Minnie–    Running And Dodging Blues (Take 2 - Test) 2:43
Bass [String Bass, Probably] – Ransom Knowling
Clarinet – Arnett Nelson
Piano – Blind John Davis
25    Little Buddy Doyle–    Slick Capers Blues (Test) 2:35
Harmonica [Probably] – Walter Horton
26    Lonnie Johnson–    The Victim Of Love 3:10
Bass [String Bass] – Ransom Knowling
Piano – Blind John Davis

THE GREAT HARP PLAYERS — The Complete Works 1927-1936 of WILLIAM FRANCIS & RICHARD SOWELL, OLLIS MARTIN, EL WATSON, PALMER McABEE, GEORGE "BULLET" WILLIAMS, BLUES BIRDHEAD, ELLIS WILLIAMS, ALFRED LEWIS, SMITH & HARPER | DOCD-5100 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although one may think of the blues harp beginning with Little Walter, the first Sonny Boy Williamson, or Sonny Terry, a variety of harmonica players did record in the '20s. Some of their recordings were technical displays that featured them imitating everything from animals to trains, while other players were more blues-oriented. This valuable CD has two selections from the guitar-harmonica team of William Francis and Richard Sowell; Ollis Martin's "Police and High Sheriff Come Ridin' Down"; six pieces by Eli Watson (including "El Watson's Fox Chase"); two cuts apiece by Palmer McAbee, Ellis Williams, Alfred Lewis, and the team of Smith & Harper (which is the only music on this CD recorded after 1930); plus four songs/displays from Blues Birdhead (including "Get up off That Jazzophone") and George "Bullet" Williams (highlighted by "Frisco Leaving Birmingham" and "The Escaped Convict"). Fascinating music. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    William Francis And Richard Sowell–    John Henry Blues
Guitar – William Francis
Harmonica – Richard Sowell
2    William Francis And Richard Sowell–    Roubin Blues
Guitar – William Francis
Harmonica – Richard Sowell
3    Ollis Martin–    Police And High Sheriff Come Ridin' Down
Vocals, Harmonica – Ollis Martin
4    El Watson–    Pot Licker Blues
Guitar – Charles Johnson
Harmonica – El Watson
5    El Watson–    Narrow Gauge Blues
Guitar – Charles Johnson
Harmonica – El Watson
6    El Watson–    El Watson's Fox Chase
Harmonica, Speech, Vocals [Effects, possibly] – El Watson, Robert Cooksey
7    El Watson–    Bay Rum Blues
Bones – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – El Watson
8    El Watson–    Sweet Bunch Of Daisies
Harmonica – El Watson
9    El Watson–    One Sock Blues
Harmonica – El Watson
10    Palmer McAbee–    Lost Boy Blues
Harmonica – Palmer McAbee
11    Palmer McAbee–    McAbee's Railroad Piece
Harmonica – Palmer McAbee
12    George "Bullet" Williams–    Touch Me Light Mama
Harmonica, Speech – George "Bullet" Williams
Vocals [perhaps] – Wiley Barner
13    George "Bullet" Williams–    Frisco Leaving Birmingham (Take 2)
Harmonica, Speech – George "Bullet" Williams
14    George "Bullet" Williams–    The Escaped Convict (Take 2)
Harmonica, Speech – George "Bullet" Williams
15    George "Bullet" Williams–    Middlin' Blues
Harmonica, Speech – George "Bullet" Williams
Speech – Unknown Artist
16    The Bubbling-Over Five–    Don't Mistreat Your Good Boy Friend
Harmonica – Blues Birdhead
Soprano Saxophone, Violin, Piano, Banjo, Guitar – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Bob Brown
17    The Bubbling-Over Five–    Get Up Off That Jazzophone
Harmonica – Blues Birdhead
Soprano Saxophone, Violin, Piano, Banjo, Guitar – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Bob Brown
18    Blues Birdhead–    Mean Low Blues
Harmonica – Blues Birdhead
Piano – Unknown Artist
19    Blues Birdhead–    Harmonica Blues
Harmonica – Blues Birdhead
Piano – Unknown Artist
20    Ellis Williams–    Buttermilk Blues
Guitar, Spoons – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Ellis Williams
21    Ellis Williams–    Smokey Blues
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Ellis Williams
22    Alfred Lewis–    Mississippi Swamp Moan
Harmonica, Vocals [Effects], Speech – Alfred Lewis
23    Alfred Lewis–    Friday Moan Blues
Harmonica, Vocals [Effects] – Alfred Lewis
24    Smith And Harper–    Poor Girl
Vocals [duet], Harmonica, Guitar – Smith And Harper
25    Smith And Harper–    Insurance Policy Blues
Guitar [2nd g.] – Unknown Artist
Vocals [duet], Harmonica, Guitar – Smith And Harper

SINNERS AND SAINTS — The Complete Works 1926-1931 of T.C.I. SECTION CREW, FREEMAN STOWER, "BEANS HAMBONE & EL MORROW, "BIG BOY" GEORGE OWENS, WILL BENNETT, LONNIE COLEMAN, NUGRATE TWINS, BLIND ROGER HAYS, PINK ANDERSON & SIMMIE DOOLEY | DOCD-5106 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Document's Sinners and Saints (1926-1931) presents the complete recorded works of nine artists and groups, whose combined repertoires and performance styles serve as a brief but fascinating lesson in the history of black music, expanding common conceptions of the musical continuum that created the blues. The CD presents minstrel and medicine show material, religious songs, two work songs, a few so-called "blues," and a bad man blues ballad, exhibiting a wide scope of black musical traditions dating back to the 19th century and still in circulation during the 1920s and '30s. The performers not only represent a variety of genres, but demonstrate highly individualized styles that reflect their own personal aesthetics as much as any traditional form. The tones of their offerings range from the bizarre and the mirthful to the plaintive and deeply spiritual; the total effect of the album is hilarious, dark, and genuinely moving. Of the artists collected here, only Pink Anderson would record again after the 1930s, producing three albums with his "rediscovery" in the '60s. Most of the performers on this compilation recorded two sides apiece, appearing in a studio for only one day of their lives; Freeman Stowers and the Pink Anderson-Simmie Dooley team have four tracks each, and the miraculous Nugrape Twins are blessed with six. Stowers performs two harmonica blues numbers, infusing one with a knockout, if grating, impersonation of a train, shrieking underneath the strains of his harp to simulate the roaring locomotive's whistle. In two other tracks, he abandons the instrument altogether for vocal imitations of animals, creating a surreal listening experience that is both terrifying and uproarious. If some of his impersonations, including a hog and a wildcat, are dead on the money, others of the inhabitants of his "Sunrise on the Farm" seem to have sprung out of the sideshows of hell. Taken together, Stowers' menagerie probably comprises some of the strangest six minutes ever recorded commercially. "Beans" Hambone, accompanied by guitarist El Morrow, continues the surrealism of Stowers' "Sunrise" with an eerie comic song called "Beans," plunked out on an unusual homemade guitar whose notes hypnotically punctuate the half-sung and half-spoken tale, in which a doctor writes prescriptions for beans, Biblical figures have gardens and arks full of beans, the singer dies from eating beans and is buried in beans, and his funeral is "preached...in beans, beans, beans." The six tracks by the Nugrape Twins (Matthew and Mark) are full of youthful energy, whether the twins are singing about the pleasures of heaven or of Nugrape Soda, or, at their most sublime, combining the two ("Way down yonder in the promised land, a-run and tell your mama, here's the Nugrape Man"). "I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape" is their masterpiece, a simultaneous hymn and jingle that advertises the soda as a cure for any earthly or spiritual ailment; like all of their songs, it pits the two rural voices against a concert piano in a unique synthesis of styles. The twins are succeeded by the New Orleans songster Blind Roger Hays, whose two songs constitute the spiritual climax of the album. Hays' singing and playing are deceptively simple, reflecting a depth of emotion that transforms the sentimentality of his lyrics and tunes into deeply inspiring and soul-shaking work. Following Hays' "I Must Be Blind, I Cannot See" (a beautiful statement with a melody lifted from "Home Sweet Home"), the album concludes with the duets of Anderson and Dooley, whose quick fingerwork, raucous kazoo, and spirited vocals maintain the exuberance if not the spirituality of Hays' performances. The performers assembled here recorded their few minutes of fame with a rich intensity, packing years and decades of experience -- and ultimately disappearing -- into the narrow circumference of a 78 record. Each artist in this well-crafted set presents his own model of rejuvenation and deliverance, whether grounded in the promise of heaven; the sound of a passenger train; the flavor of an ice-cold Nugrape; or the pleasures of stronger drink, sex, and dance -- of "tipping out tonight" and "strutting his stuff." With brief notes by blues writer Paul Oliver, the album is as entertaining and educational as the best of Document's CDs. It is doubly commendable for illustrating the breadth of traditions captured on "race records," while also showcasing the talents of the lesser-known patron saints of the business. Highly recommended. Burgin Mathews

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. The lack of early recordings means that we have no direct contemporary information on the sounds of black music in the formative years from the 1890s to the l920s. So we have to make deductions from what evidence we can obtain. Take work song, for instance. No field recordings were made of the songs of the black section gangs as they physically “lined track” – straightened railroad lines buckled by heat – until Henry Truvillion was recorded in 1939. A dozen years before, a single coupling was made by the T.C.I. Section Crew; the only work song of its type to be recorded on a commercial 78rpm disc. Work songs were unaccompanied. How did instrumental accompaniments enter the blues, which is believed to have been originally a solo form of work song? A harmonica is the easiest instrument to carry, and Freeman Stowers, apparently a Texas field hand from his vocal imitations of animals on the farm, plays – and shrieks – the sounds of passing trains, a ferocious hunt for a Texas wildcat, and a medley of old blues and country dance themes. By later standards his playing may be primitive but it illustrates the origins of blues “vocalised tone”. Then there is the matter of the songs themselves – the precursors of blues and the song traditions that blues slowly replaced. Beans, a comic song half-chanted by James Albert, called “Beans Hambone”, was a song composed by Elmer Bowman and Chris Smith in 1912; all four came from the Carolinas. So did Pink Anderson, the medicine show entertainer, from South Carolina, who made a much more accomplished version of “Tippin’” Out as Gonna Tip Out Tonight. In Beans Hambone and El Morrow we have a rare glimpse of a couple of country musicians trying to learn their craft; in Pink Anderson and Simmie Dooley we hear a couple of professional musicians from the travelling “medicine shows”. As I’ve Got Mine, “The Coon Crap Game” was one of Pink Anderson‘s favourite songs when he was recorded in the l950s; “Big Boy” George Owens recorded it many years before, but it was an old song by then, having been written by a white minstrel show entertainer, John Queen, in 1901. George Owens also cut a blues, using a number of standard verses that had been collected soon after Queen wrote his “Coon” song. Kentucky Blues may be a clue to his home state. Will Bennett might have come from Tennessee, where he recorded the song of a rambler who did not want to be burdened with property: “any-old-where I hang my hat is home sweet home to me”. He was another old-time “songster”, the kind of singer who could draw on a wide repertoire to entertain on street corners. His song about Railroad Bill extolled the exploits of a real-life black train robber and Alabama hero, Morris Slater, who was gunned down in 1897. Bennett identifies with the bandit in the ballad. Stack O Lee, Frankie and Albert and Railroad Bill were of this type, which may well have influenced the form of the blues. It was the songsters who adopted the guitar, replacing the 19th Century combination of banjo and fiddle. By the time they were recorded there were few banjoists left, but Lonnie Coleman was one. His rasping voice and ringing banjo give us the flavour of country music at the time when blues was an emergent music. Simply known as Matthew and Mark, the “Nugrape Twins” took their name from a proprietary non-alcoholic drink. Three of their harmonised songs bridged the old spiritual tradition and the emerging gospel songs of the Sanctified churches. Their accents were rural but their pianist was used to concert-styled accompaniments. There’s A City Built of Mansions was based on a traditional spiritual, but I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape made a gospel message out of a contemporary secular theme. The twins may be contrasted with Blind Roger Hays from New Orleans who accompanied his rough and simple songs on harmonica and a briskly strummed guitar. On I Must Be Blind, I Cannot See he sang of his affliction, made all the more touching by the cheerful dance time. Blind Simmie Dooley partnered Pink Anderson, exchanging verses on Every Day in the Week Blues based on a Harry von Tilzer song from 1900, and taking the nasal lead on C. C. And O. Blues, a four-line, sixteen bar blues on the railroad theme. It wasn’t the blues in its mature form, but the singing and playing of these songsters showed that it was on its way. DOCD-5106
Tracklist :
1    T.C.I. Section Crew–    Track Linin    2:40
2    T.C.I. Section Crew–    Section Gang Song    2:25
3    Freeman Stowers–    Railroad Blues     3:07
4    Freeman Stowers–    Texas Wild Cat Chase    2:55
5    Freeman Stowers–    Medley Of Blues (All Out And Down: Old Time Blues: Hog In The Mountain)    2:50
6    Freeman Stowers–    Sunrise On The Farm    2:57
7    "Beans" Hambone-El Morrow–    Beans    2:50
8    "Beans" Hambone-El Morrow–    Tippin' Out    2:41
9    "Big Boy" George Owens*–    Kentucky Blues    2:57
10    "Big Boy" George Owens*–    The Coon Crap Game    2:41
11    Will Bennett–    Railroad Bill    2:57
12    Will Bennett–    Real Estate Blues    2:29
13    Lonnie Coleman–    Old Rock Island Blues    3:12
14    Lonnie Coleman–    Wild About My Loving    3:05
15    The NuGrape Twins–    I Got Your Ice Cold Nugrape    2:54
16    The NuGrape Twins–    There's A City Built Of Mansions    2:55
17    The NuGrape Twins–    The Road Is Rough And Rocky    2:42
18    The NuGrape Twins–    Pray Children If You Wan't To Go To Heaven    2:41
19    The NuGrape Twins–    Nugrape - A Flavor You Can't Forget    2:53
20    The NuGrape Twins–    Can't You Watch Me For One Hour    2:34
21    Blind Roger Hays–    On My Way To Heaven    3:08
22    Blind Roger Hays–    I Must Be Blind, I Cannot See     3:01
23    Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley–    Every Day In The Week Blues    2:52
24    Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley–    C.C. & O. Blues    3:09
25    Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley–    Papa's 'Bout To Get Mad    2:54
26    Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley–    Gonna Tip Out Tonight    3:10

REV. D.C. RICE – Complete Recorded Works 1928-1930 In Chronological Order | DOCD-5071 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Complete Recorded Works (1928-1930) is an excellent disc that contains all 20 known preformances from the Rev. D.C. Rice, an impassioned country-blues gospel singer. These are some of the finest blues-gospel recordings of their era, and this is likely the best presentation they'll ever receive. Thom Owens
Tracklist :
1        The Angels Rolled The Stone Away    2:39
2        A Sure Foundation    2:38
3        Come And See    2:48
4        Lord Keep Me With A Mind    2:46
5        Leaving All To Follow Jesus    2:53
6        Shall Not A Dog Move His Tongue    2:48
7        Take My Yoke Upon You    2:41
8        The Wise And The Foolish Virgins    2:43
9        The Sure Foundation - Part 2    2:45
10        I Will Arise And Go To My Father    2:52
11        He's Got His Eyes On You    3:11
12        I'm In The Battlefield For My Lord    3:19
13        I'm Pressing On    2:43
14        No Night There    2:56
15        Sin Is To Blame    2:42
16        Tell It Over Again    2:49
17        Who Do You Call That Wonderful Counsellor    2:45
18        I Mean To Live So God Can Use Me    2:46
19        Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?    2:31
20        He Arose Them From The Dead    2:44
21        Testify - For My Lord Is Coming Back Again    2:32
22        When I Take My Vacation In Heaven    3:23
23        A Woman Went One Thousand Miles To See A Man    2:46
24        I'm Gonna Wait Right Here Till He Comes    3:01
25        We Got The Same Kinda Power Over Here    2:53
26        New Born Again    2:37

TEXAS SLIDE GUITARS — Complete Recorded Works 1930-1938 In Chronological Order of OSCAR WOODS & BLACK ACE | DOCD-5143 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks), lossless)

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Blues musicians from the Deep South tend to use the bottleneck-slide or slide guitar style more often than other “down-home” blues players, and Black Ace and Oscar “Buddy” Woods were two of the best musicians to perform in this manner. Oscar Woods, a street singer since 1925, teamed with Ed Schaffer to record two selections for Victor at their May, 1930 Memphis field session. Their record was issued as by the Shreveport Homewreckers and featured Schaffer’s gritty vocal and kazoo supported by their twin slide guitars. They returned to the studio about two years later for a session almost certainly arranged by Jimmie Davis, who was in Dallas for a session that lasted several days. The duo played on four sides: Saturday Night Stroll, Sewing Machine Blues, Red Night Gown, and Davis’s Salty Dog. Davis went on to claim authorship of You Are My Sunshine and was twice elected governor of Louisiana. In the early 1930s, however, he was a struggling hillbilly and singer with a taste for the yodelling of Jimmie Rodgers and black blues music. Sewing Machine Blues is a strangely effective, almost eerie blues performance that belies Davis’s later political and Christian song-writing career. Five years after recording with Davis, Oscar Woods travelled south to New Orleans for a solo Decca recording session that included his theme song, Lone Wolf Blues. Two more brief commercial sessions for Vocalion followed in 1937 and 1938, this time with a small band – The Wampus Cats. Nothing is known of Ed Schaffer, who seems to have drifted out-of-town in the middle 1930s. Babe Kyro Lemon Turner spent much of his life about two hundred miles due west of Shreveport in and what is now the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. In the early 1930s the Black Ace temporarily migrated to Shreveport and teamed with Oscar Woods. By 1936 he’d moved to Fort Worth and secured work as a musician and broadcast over a local station KFJZ from 1936 to 1941. Turner even appeared in the film “The Blood of Jesus” in 1941. Known as “The Black Ace“, Turner first came into the ARC field studio in April, 1936, but his two selections Bonus Man Blues and Black Ace Blues were never issued. Nearly one year later he returned to Dallas for a Decca field session that also included pianists Black Ivory King and Alex Moore as well as Blind Norris and Andrew Hogg. The six selections on this album, most of which are compositions based on traditional themes like alcohol, women and Santa Claus come from this session. Chris Strachwitz, during a field trip to Texas in 1960 in the company of Paul Oliver, came across the Black Ace and recorded him including, of course, his theme song, Black Ace and Mr. Turner’s unique slide guitar and vocals were introduced to a new audience of blues enthusiasts. DOCD-5143
Tracklist :
Oscar "Buddy" Woods    
1    Jimmie Davis–    She's A Hum Dum Dinger (From Dingersville) 2:56
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar [Poss.] – "Dizzy Head"
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
2    Shreveport Home Wreckers–    Fence Breakin' Blues 3:11
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar, Vocals, Kazoo – Ed Schaffer
3    Shreveport Home Wreckers–    Home Wreckin' Blues 3:14
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar, Vocals, Kazoo – Ed Schaffer
4    Jimmie Davis–    Bear Cat Mama From Horner's Corners 3:00
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar [Poss.] – "Dizzy Head"*
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
5    Jimmie Davis, Oscar Woods–    Saturday Night Stroll 3:17
Guitar – Ed Schaffer
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
6    Jimmie Davis–    Sewing Machine Blues 3:19
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar [Poss.] – "Dizzy Head"
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
7    Jimmie Davis–    Red Nightgown Blues 2:57
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar [Poss.] – "Dizzy Head"
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
8    Jimmie Davis–    Davis's Salty Dog 2:27
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Guitar [Poss.] – "Dizzy Head"
Vocals – Jimmie Davis
9    Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)–    Evil Hearted Woman Blues 3:05
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)
10    Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)*–    Lone Wolf Blues 3:10
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)
11    Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)*–    Don't Sell It - Don't Give It Away 2:54
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods (The Lone Wolf)
12    Buddy Woods With The Wampus Cats–    Muscat Hill Blues 2:47
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
13    Buddy Woods With The Wampus Cats–    Don't Sell It (Don't Give It Away) 2:30
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
14    Kitty Gray And Her Wampus Cats–    Baton Rouge Rag 2:27
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Oscar Woods
Piano – Kitty Gray
15    Buddy Woods–    Jam Session Blues 2:34
Accompanied By – Wampus Cats
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Trumpet – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
16    Buddy Woods–    Low Life Blues 2:31
Accompanied By – Wampus Cats
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Trumpet – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
17    Buddy Woods–    Token Blues 2:30
Accompanied By – Wampus Cats
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Trumpet – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
18    Buddy Woods–    Come On Over To My House Baby 2:23
Accompanied By – Wampus Cats
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
Vocals, Guitar – Oscar Woods
        Black Ace    
19    Black Ace–    Trifling Woman 2:46
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace
20    Black Ace–    Black Ace 2:44
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace
21    Black Ace–    You Gonna Need My Help Some Day 2:34
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace
22    Black Ace–    Whiskey And Women 3:00
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace
23    Black Ace–    Christmas Time Blues 2:45
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace
24    Black Ace–    Lowing Heifer 3:02
Guitar [Prob.] – Smokey Hogg
Vocals, Guitar – Black Ace

SON HOUSE — The Legendary 1969 Rochester Complete Sessions | DOCD-5148 (1992) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Document's At Home: Complete 1969 Recorded Works is a fascinating look at Son House in an intimate setting, and serious fans will find it necessary, but many of these performances aren't as strong as similar sets he recorded in the '60s. In other words, it's one for the completist. Thom Owens

Abridged from this albums original booklet notes. When back in 1964 Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro searched the Mississippi Delta region for clues as to the whereabouts of legendary blues recording artist Son House, they first drew a blank. Finally, in Robinsonville – where Robert Johnson first played blues in a juke joint – they got a lead which eventually took them right back to New York State. In June of that year, they arrived at Son House‘s home in Rochester’s riverfront Corn Hill neighbourhood, almost a thousand miles from Mississippi! Son had lived here since 1943, soon after being recorded for the Library of Congress by Alan Lomax. Son had not performed blues for many years and was completely unaware of the international enthusiasm for the 10 sides he recorded for Paramount in 1930 and those he later made for Lomax. Although a little rusty at first, after practising for some weeks he gradually relearned his old guitar skills and his voice strengthened to the point where he was able to play concerts again. “When he played, his eyes rolled back in his head and he went somewhere else. Whether it was Robinsonville in the ’30’s or wherever, he transported himself back without any trickery and became the essence of Delta. He would then finish the song, blink his eyes, and then re-accustom himself to where he was at the time.” – Dick Waterman, remembering Son House. By the time John Hammond of Columbia Records decided to record him in April 1965, he was singing and playing with such power and conviction that the years seemed to have rolled away, with some of performances rivalling those for the Library of National Congress twenty years before. The informal recordings of Son House and his wife, Evie (who plays tambourine and gives a spoken message) on this album were made by Steve Lobb at their Rochester home, just prior to Son’s second European tour. They remind us of the remarkable return to music of one of the very greatest of all the many Mississippi blues singers. DOCD-5072
Tracklist :
1        Son's Blues 20:37
Arranged By – Son House
Written-By – Charley Patton
2        Yonder Comes My Mother 1:50
– Traditional
Arranged By – Son House
3        Shetland Pony Blues 3:42
Written-By – Son House
4        I'm So Sorry Baby 2:34
Written-By – Son House
5        Plantation Song 0:45
Written-By – Son House
6        Mister Suzie-Q  2:44
Written-By – Son House
7        Evening Train 4:47
– Traditional
Arranged By – Son House
8        Sundown 7:23
Written-By – Son House
9        Preachin' The Blues 7:20
Written-By – Eddie J. House
10        Empire State Express 8:45
– Traditional
Arranged By – Son House
11        Never Mind People Grinnin' In Your Face 3:44
Arranged By – Son House
Tambourine – Evie House
Written-By – James Milton Black
12        Sun Goin' Down 7:09
Written-By – Son House
13        A Spoken Message 7:06
Voice [Speech] – Evie House
Written-By – Son House

MEMPHIS GOSPEL — The Complete Recorded Works 1927-1929 of SISTER MARY NELSON, LONNIE McINTORSH, BESSIE JOHNSON In Chronological Order | DOCD-5072 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 1998, Document released a Memphis Gospel collection filled with 24 historic recordings made during the years 1927-1929. The album opens on powerhouse Pentecostal footing with four titles released under the name of Rev. Sister Mary M. Nelson, assisted by John Davis and Clarence Nelson, who may have handled some of the lead preaching, as most of the harsh, shrill delivery suggests maleness while the female voice is mainly heard in a supportive role. After more than ten minutes of intense holy rolling, Lonnie McIntorsh comes across as comparatively mild-mannered, vigorously strumming his guitar while singing directly from the heart. Most of the rest of this album is charged with gutsy, gale-force religious fervor. Tracks 9-14 are credited to Elders McIntorsh & Edwards assisted by Sisters Johnson & Taylor, but anyone familiar with Elder Richard Bryant's Sanctified Singers could easily mistake one for the other, and there may have been substantial cross-pollination between the two groups. Tracks 15-18 are by impassioned evangelist Reverend Johnny Blakey with backing by Bessie Johnson & the Sanctified Singers. In 1995, 14 of Blakey's recordings were reissued by Document on one CD with eight tracks by Rev. M.L. Gibson. Four of his titles are included here and two more may be found on Preachers & Congregations, Vol.1. This is unfortunate as it spreads Blakey's legacy over three loosely related albums rather than making all of his devotional efforts available on one disc. "No Room at the Hotel," "Key to the Kingdom," "One Day," and "The Whole World in His Hand" were sung by Bessie Johnson & the Sanctified Singers, with full-throated vocals, handclapping, and a touch of washboard that suggests links with the Memphis blues, hokum, and jug band scene. The final two tracks, which are a bit gentler and more restrained, feature Bessie Johnson & the Sanctified Singers accompanied by guitarist Will Shade, who was in fact a cardinal member of the world famous Memphis Jug Band. This collection should be regarded as a companion volume to Document's equally amazing anthology Memphis Sanctified Jug Bands 1928-1930. Fully smitten enthusiasts may even wish to spring for the Dust-to-Digital box set Goodbye, Babylon. Because music like this can really grow on you, and a lot of it has resurfaced and been reissued. arwulf arwulf

”Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Memphis may be better known for the blues or Sun Records but it has been equally important as a centre for black gospel music. The quartet scene with groups like the Spirit of Memphis, the Southern Wonders and Sunset Travelers has been documented in Kip Lornell‘s book, Happy in the Service of the Lord: Afro-American Gospel Quartets in Memphis. Two of the greatest gospel songwriters, Lucie B. Campbell and Rev. W. H. Brewster, both called Memphis their home. Equally important is the fact that Memphis was the place where the most important of all the holiness denominations, the Church of God in Christ, was founded and is still based with annual conventions every fall. It was 1895 when Bishop Charles Mason founded the Church and, in its flock, many of the great gospel singers have flourished from Ernestine Washington to contemporary groups like the Clark Sisters. The sanctified sound of the holiness churches was one that encouraged expressive and irrepressible outpourings of the spirit. The singers were neither afraid to use instruments, nor to let the congregation fully participate by hand clapping, shouts, and joining in. Salvation was participatory and the saints in the pews were there not to let the word wash over them but to have the spirit carry them away. It is the early flowering of the sanctified sound that is represented here in the recordings of Bessie Johnson and Rev. Sister Mary Nelson. The two selections under the name the Memphis Sanctified Singers have a more restrained feeling and feature guitar that may have been by Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band. This disc is filled out with the complete recorded repertoire of the four selections by Rev. Sister Mary Nelson. DOCD-5072
Tracklist :
1    Rev. Sister Mary M. Nelson–    The Royal Telephone
2    Rev. Sister Mary M. Nelson–    Judgment
3    Rev. Sister Mary M. Nelson–    The Seal Of God
4    Rev. Sister Mary M. Nelson–    Isaiah - LV
5    Lonnie McIntorsh–    Sleep On, Mother, Sleep On
6    Lonnie McIntorsh–    The Lion And The Tribes Of Judah
7    Lonnie McIntorsh–    Arise And Shine
8    Lonnie McIntorsh–    How Much I Owe
9    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    What Kind Of Man Jesus Is
10    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    Since I Laid My Burden Down
11    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    The 1927 Flood
12    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    The Latter Rain Is Fall
13    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    Take A Stand
14    Elders McIntorsh And Edwards–    Behold! The King Shall Reign
15    Reverend Johnnie Blakey–    King Of Kings
16    Reverend Johnnie Blakey–    Jesus Was Here On Business
17    Reverend Johnnie Blakey–    Warming By The Devil's Fire
18    Reverend Johnnie Blakey–    The Devil Is Loose In The World
19    Bessie Johnson–    No Room At The Hotel
20    Bessie Johnson–    Key To The Kingdom
21    Bessie Johnson–    One Day
22    Bessie Johnson–    The Whole World In His Hand
23    Memphis Sanctified Singers–    The Great Reaping Day
24    Memphis Sanctified Singers–    He Got Better Things For You

SKIP JAMES – "Live" Boston 1964 & Philadelphia 1966 | DOCD-5149 (1992) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

These recordings, made in coffee houses during the folk boom and James' comeback after 30 years of obscurity, find him still in remarkable control of his talents. His guitar and piano playing are agile and sensitive and his high tenor still sends a shiver down the spine. The sound is very good (save for the occasional drop out), but more importantly the performances are first rate, and with a little imagination you can put yourself right there in the room with this enormous talent. Tim Sheridan

” The years 1964-1967 were the sum total of the second coming of Skip James. He had blazed out of the south for a brief instant in 1931, and had even left a few artefacts to prove that it wasn’t all a dream – and then he returned, a talent like a periodic comet of blazing intensity. I saw him play in Boston – it must have been him, and so it must have been around November, 1964.
At that time, there were coffee houses offering all manner of unusual musicians. Guitar Nubbit would be in town – so, let’s go see him. Jim Kweskin And His Jug Band, The Charles River Valley Boys, Gary Davis doing a show on Boston Common – why, let’s take the little children, they’ll enjoy Pete Seeger. “Where do you get your material from,”  I asked the Holy Modal Rounders. Well, get a copy of the Folkways Anthology and you’ll get a good start. These are the ways a person can get bent around by the blues. But you have to remember, they were magical times. If you didn’t see Mississippi John Hurt at one place, say Newport one year, why you could just catch him again later at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. And if you liked their stuff, you could just get the studio LP’s that were being released.

By the 1970’s, people began to realize that we had witnessed something special. You could still see Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry , maybe catch Roosevelt Sykes here or there, have a few drinks with Robert Pete Williams after a set but time was taking its toll.
I was performing Sacred Harp music in Toronto when one of the others asked if I’d like a tape of Skip James that he had. Skip had haunted me for years – but it was taking me a couple of years practice to learn any of songs. So, I blithely agreed. I had it laying around for ten years or so be before I sent it to Document Records to see if anyone else would like to hear it. Considering how haphazard all this is, I would have thought that other “live” tapes of Skip James would have appeared since, but at the time of writing this seems to have been the only one. I’ve  found that my own tapes have been deteriorating, so kindred souls might well consider making the music available to those whose circumstances didn’t make it quite so easy to see these remarkable artists in person. I know there are other tapes out there somewhere, so now it’s time to DO THE RIGHT THING. The bottom line to all this is that these live tapes are as elusive as the original 78’s, and that a concerted effort must be made to make sure they don’t disappear or get lost inadvertently. Share the music, share the memories, and help preserve the blues tradition.” DOCD-5149
Tracklist :
        Boston 1964    
1        Illinois Blues    3:33
2        How Long Blues    3:08
3        Drunken Spree    3:28
4        Four 'O Clock Blues    3:08
        Philadelphia 1966    
5        Hard Luck Child    0:54
6        I Don't Want A Woman To Stay Out All Night Long    4:35
7        Loretta Blues    4:18
8        Special Lover Blues    2:54
9        Cherry Ball Blues    4:46
10        Washington, D. C. Hospital Center Blues    5:30
11        Hard Luck Child (No. 2)    4:44
12        Look At The People 5:01
Vocals – Mrs. Lorenzo James
13        Mary Don't You Weep    2:18
14        Someday You Gotta Die    2:20
15        I'm So Glad    0:35
Credits :
Guitar – Skip James (tracks: 1, 3, 5 to 15)
Liner Notes – Roger Misiewicz
Piano – Skip James (tracks: 2, 4)
Vocals – Skip James

JAYBIRD COLEMAN & THE BIRMINGHAM JUG BAND — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order 1927-1930 | DOCD-5140 (1992) RM | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Jaybird Coleman wasn't one of the most distinctive early country-blues harmonica players, but he nevertheless made engaging, entertaining music. All of his recordings -- which only totalled 11 sides -- are collected on Document's 1927-1930. For fans of the genre, there are some cuts of interest here, but the music doesn't have enough weight to be of interest to anyone but country-blues fanatics. Thom Owens

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. It is highly unlikely that the correct personnel will ever be known for this energetic, but enigmatic, group. The standard sources give the following possible group members, information which was apparently obtained many years ago from Big Joe Williams: Jaybird Coleman (harp), Joe Williams, “One-Armed Dave” (Dave Miles), “Dr. Scott”, Bogus Ben Covington (stringed instruments), “Honeycup”, (jug), “New Orleans Slide”, (washboard). There may be elements of accuracy in Williams’ assertions; certainly his word will stand until more reliable information surfaces. One fact is indisputable: the Birmingham Jug Band participated in an exceptionally diverse field session in Atlanta that included the Middle Georgia Singing Convention No.1, Macon Ed and Tampa Joe, Rev. J. M. Gates, and King David’s Jug Band. The truth is that the names themselves are not as important as the music itself because the Birmingham Jug Band was one of the most raucous groups to record. I wish I’d been able to attend one of their live performances (they sound like a group that played together and were not just a studio band), but we can hear eight of the nine selections they recorded for OKeh in December of 1930. These sides underscore their place in American music history as one of the most irrepressible jug bands ever to record. Its varied repertoire reflects the general diversity of African-American music in the deep South in the late 1920s; Bill Wilson is an engaging version of “John Henry”, while Giving It Away reflects the hokum blues so popular at the time. One of their most entertaining performances, The Wild Cat Squall is a hectic, almost frenzied, showcase for the harmonica player. Kickin’ Mule Blues illustrates two of the group’s most pronounced musical characteristics: its tempo is rather quick and it features a thick musical texture, enriched by the blend of jug, percussion and stringed instruments. Burl C. “Jaybird” Coleman originally from Gainesville, Georgia, is alleged to be the harmonica player for the Birmingham Jug Band, which strikes me as an unlikely proposition, although their styles are not dissimilar. Even if he was not on these jug band sides we know that he served in the Army around World War I, worked with minstrel shows and as a solo artist before his death in June, 1950 in Tuskegee, Alabama. On his own unaccompanied recordings Jaybird Coleman tends to use a higher pitched harp – often playing in the key of C or D. His timing on these recordings issued on Gennett, Black Patti and related labels, not surprisingly, is much more idiosyncratic. These fascinating selections are a compromise between field hollers and blues, especially in Jaybird’s cavalier disregard for the 12-bar blues form and his frequent use of the falsetto voice range. Coleman’s harp also often serves as an extension of his voice or as a call and response, similar to the musical form of a group work song. Like so many “bluesmen”, Jaybird Coleman’s recorded repertoire easily moves between the secular and the sacred. His duet with Ollis Martin, I’m Gonna Cross The River Of Jordan – Some O’ These Days is a masterful version of this 19th century spiritual. Equally strong and moving are the blues-like performances; Man Trouble Blues and Save Your Money – Let These Women Go are tough, personal, and utterly unique. Boll Weevil is his lament for the demise of southern agriculture, which began at the turn of the century, and a highly entertaining version of this blues ballad. His final recordings for Columbia are the only selections on which he sounds somewhat uneasy. It is evident that he has to keep his own creative impulses in check while trying to keep in sync with the unknown piano player. This is particularly evident in Man Trouble Blues, which pales in comparison to his Gennett recording from two and a half years earlier. DOCD-5140
Tracklist :
1    Bertha Ross–    My Jelly Blues 3:08
Accompanied By – Bessemer Blues Pickers
Harmonica [probably] – Jaybird Coleman
Piano – Vance Patterson
Vocals – Bertha Ross
Whistling – Unknown Artist
2    Jaybird Coleman–    Mill Log Blues 2:40
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
3    Jaybird Coleman–    Boll Weevil 2:58
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
4    Jaybird Coleman–    Ah'm Sick And Tired Of Tellin' You (To Wiggle That Thing) 3:03
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
5    Jaybird Coleman–    Man Trouble Blues 3:04
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
6    Jaybird Coleman–    Trunk Busted — Suitcase Full Of Holes 2:59
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
7    Jaybird Coleman–    I'm Gonna Cross The River Of Jordan — Some O' These Days 3:00
Harmonica [2nd hca.] – Ollis Martin
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
8    Jaybird Coleman–    You Heard Me Whistle (Oughta Know My Blow) 3:05
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
9    Jaybird Coleman–    No More Good Water — 'Cause The Pond Is Dry 3:06
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
10    Jaybird Coleman–    Mistreatin' Mama 3:00
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
11    Jaybird Coleman–    Save Your Money — Let These Women Go 2:51
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
12    Frank Palmes–    Ain't Gonna Lay My 'Ligion Down 2:54
Vocals, Harmonica – Frank Palmes
13    Frank Palmes–    Troubled 'Bout My Soul 2:53
Vocals, Harmonica – Frank Palmes
14    Jaybird Coleman–    Coffee Grinder Blues 3:03
Piano [possibly] – R.D. Norwood
Piano [probably] – Robert McCoy
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
15    Jaybird Coleman–    Man Trouble Blues 3:02
Piano [possibly] – R.D. Norwood
Piano [probably] – Robert McCoy
Vocals, Harmonica – Jaybird Coleman
16    Birmingham Jug Band–    German Blues 2:59
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
17    Birmingham Jug Band–    Cane Brake Blues 2:58
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
18    Birmingham Jug Band–    The Wild Cat Squawl 3:17
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
19    Birmingham Jug Band–    Bill Wilson 3:13
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
20    Birmingham Jug Band–    Birmingham Blues 3:14
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Speech – Unknown Artist
21    Birmingham Jug Band–    Gettin' Ready For Trial 3:02
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
22    Birmingham Jug Band–    Giving It Away 3:08
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist
23    Birmingham Jug Band–    Kickin' Mule Blues 3:10
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Harmonica – Unknown Artist
Jug – Unknown Artist
Mandolin – Unknown Artist
Vocals – Unknown Artist

COW COW DAVENPORT — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 • 1925 to 1929 | DOCD- 5141 (1992) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The complete output of pianist/singer Cow Cow Davenport as a leader has been made available on two CDs by Europe's Document CD; his sideman dates are also available on two other CDs. Because Cow Cow (named after his famous "Cow Cow Blues") is often categorized as a member of the blues world, it is sometimes overlooked how strong a jazz/blues pianist he was. On this first volume, Davenport is heard collaborating with singer Dora Carr, playing duets with cornetist B.T. Wingfield, interacting with singer Sam Theard, and performing heated solos which are sometimes commented upon by his partner Ivy Smith; in addition, there are a few solo instrumentals that really show what Davenport could do. The highlights include "Chimes Blues," "Atlanta Rag," "Back In the Alley" and four versions of "Cow Cow Blues." Scott Yanow

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Through the efforts of early jazz enthusiasts we know more about Charles “Cow Cow” Davenport than any of the pioneer blues and boogie pianists. Born in 1894 in Anniston, Alabama into a religious and musical family, he taught himself on the church organ. A brief sojourn at the Theological Seminary, Selma was terminated in 1910 when he played piano too freely for a function where the students marched (dancing was not allowed) and “the girls got so frisky they couldn’t march in time”. This incident was to inspire his most popular and enduring song, Mama Don’t Allow No Music Playing Here while the general disapproval of church people for the music he wanted to play led to his coining the term “boogie woogie”. As badly behaved children would be threatened with the “boogie man” (“bogey man”) Davenport said, “I called my music ‘Boogie’ music”. Note that in Davenport’s dictionary the phrase covered all the music “in the honky tonks, joints where nice people did not go”.

A short-lived (one year) marriage to a blues singer pianist Helen Rivers led to Cow Cow Blues (Railroad Blues) his most famous song: “I was so blue I commenced to get drunk. I went from honky tonk to honky tonk drinking everything I could get my hands on. When I walked out on stage that night I could hardly stand up straight. But I had sense enough to pretend like it was part of the act. I made up some words right there on the spot and began to sing my sadness:
Lord I woke up this morning, my gal was gone Fell out my bedside, hung my head and moaned Went down to state and I couldn’t be satisfied Had those Railroad Blues I just too mean to cry

His despair was short-lived too for he met singer Dora Carr who “pestered” him until they teamed up and worked the T.O.B.A. circuit as Davenport And Carr. Laid off in New Orleans they met Ralph Peer who sent them to New York and the first recordings as a vocal duo for Okeh followed in 1924 with Clarence Williams on piano and it was to be a year before Cow Cow Davenport was to play piano on record. Even then the session for Gennett went unissued (possibly because of the Okeh contract?) and it was later that year that Williams allowed him to accompany Dora on Cow Cow Blues. One more Davenport And Carr duo the next year (see BDCD-6040) and the relationship with Dora and, it seems, Okeh broke up. A Paramount session in 1927 with new partner Ivy Smith had violin accompaniment from Leroy Pickett and cornet by B. T. Wingfield who was in Pickett’s band at the Apollo Theatre, Chicago but 1928 and ’29 were the boom years with over twenty sessions for Vocalion and Gennett with Ivy Smith, novelty numbers with his new discovery Sam Theard, accompaniments to Hound Head Henry, probably Jim Towel and Memphis Joe (BDCD-6041) and brilliant solo sessions in a rich variety of styles. Along the definitive Cow Cow Blues and State Street Jive, great classics of Blues piano, Alabama Strut and Atlanta Rag were consummate ragtime while Mootch Piddle hinted at his vaudeville comedy routines. Cow Cow Blues was his most influential number but Dirty Ground Hog was even recalled by John Lee Hooker at his 1952 Chess session. Constantly in demand Cow Cow Davenport must have thought the good times were going to last for ever. DOCD-5141
Tracklist :
1        Cow Cow Blues    2:53
2        Alabama Mistreater    3:01
3        Jim Crow Blues    3:07
4        Goin' Home Blues    3:18
5        New Cow Cow Blues    2:53
6        Stealin' Blues    2:38
7        Cow Cow Blues [Take 1]    3:05
8        Cow Cow Blues [Take 2]    3:10
9        State Street Jive [Take 1]    3:01
10        State Street Jive [Take 2]    3:04
11        Chimin' The Blues    3:11
12        Alabama Strut    2:52
13        Alabama Mistreater    2:53
14        Dirty Ground Hog (Blues)    2:51
15        Chimes Blues    3:19
16        Struttin' The Blues    3:07
17        Givin' It Away    2:28
18        Slow Drag    3:15
19        Atlanta Drag    3:11
20        That'll Get It    3:22
21        I'm Gonna Tell You In Front So You Won't Be Hurt Behind    3:24
22        State Street Blues    2:49
23        Back In The Alley    2:56
24        Mootch Piddle    2:53

COW COW DAVENPORT — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 2 • 1929 to 1945 | DOCD- 5142 (1994) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The second half of the Cow Cow Davenport story (the two Document CDs in this series have all of his recordings as a leader) features Davenport in a variety of settings: solo in 1929; sharing vocal duets with Sam Tarpley and Ivy Smith during 1929-30; sticking to vocalizing on a lone date from 1938; and performing eight selections (six of which are piano solos) in 1945 for what would be his final recordings. Although Cow Cow Davenport ended up quite destitute and forgotten, his music was generally quite joyous, and he was certainly a fine, underrated pianist. Among the more memorable selections on this recommended disc are "Mama Don't Allow No Easy Riders," "Everybody Likes That Thing," "The Mess Is Here," "Jeep Boogie" and "Hobson City Stomp." Scott Yanow

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. 1928 and ’29 were the good years for Cow Cow Davenport. He was on the staff of Vocalion Records, paid $ 85 a week as a composer, owned a large apartment at 35th & Wabash and had money in the bank. Further he claimed he was even owed $ 3000 royalties on his Paramount sessions. The road beckoned again and with Iva (possibly her correct name?) Smith he put together “Cow Cow’s Chicago Steppers” review. Sinking all his money into it but charging the bus to Paramount, against the owed royalties. He hired musicians, acrobats, comedians and showgirls and, on the eve of the Depression, took to the road. Kansas City was a successful first stop but when they moved down South to Dallas, “things began to break bad”. With no money left the show broke up in Mobile and Cow Cow, who’d pawned the bus several times, ended up in jail and with pneumonia. On release, six months later, arthritis set in and he lost the use of his right arm. Still trying, he joined up with Haeg’s Circus in Florida as a minstrel and eventually made his way to his sister’s in Cleveland. Gradually, he started to play again and when he met Peggy Taylor, a performer who did a dance with snakes and had a show in the city, Cow Cow couldn’t resist. “When you see shows, you always want to join them” he said. He introduced himself as a comedian and he was off on the road again. There was still trouble – this time with the snakes, police and, not surprisingly, landladies. Back in Cleveland, Peggy went to work for the city and Cow Cow kept writing Mayo Williams, now at Decca, who set up the 1938 session. With Sam Price and a bunch of New York musicians he recorded two earlier songs he’d written for Sam Theard; I Ain’t No Ice Man and That’ll Get It and, of course, the vocal version of Cow Cow Blues. (Incidentally the original “Iceman” was the precursor of Bo Carter‘s All Around Man.) Despite the good songs it was not a happy session. Cow Cow only sang (Teddy Bunn remembered Don’t You Loudmouth Me, and Davenport as a loudmouth too) and one can imagine Cow Cow Davenport the old-fashioned, once famous entertainer down on his luck, and desperate for a comeback but his brilliant piano-playing just a memory, trying to impress a slick New York house-band. Cow Cow Davenport was to play piano again, from time to time, in small clubs and jobs engineered by collectors, while working as a washroom attendant and on record for J. H. Alderton Jr‘s Comet label in 1945. A vocal session with Peggy for Rudi Blesh‘s Circle label remains unissued. His last years of poverty on Scoville Avenue in the heart of the Cleveland ghetto have a depressing familiar ring to them. Local jazz enthusiasts had persuaded A.S.C.A.R to admit Cow Cow as a member and there was a small royalty cheque each month – but not from “Cow Cow Boogie”, a pop song he’d signed away to Leeds Music for $500 in 1942. DOCD-5134
Tracklist :
1    Cow Cow Davenport–    We Gonna Rub It 3:12
Piano [Solo], Speech – Cow Cow Davenport
2    Cow Cow Davenport–    Texas Shout 3:10
Piano [Solo] – Cow Cow Davenport
3    Cow Cow Davenport–    Mama Don't Allow No Easy Riders 3:03
Piano [Solo] – Cow Cow Davenport
4    Cow Cow Davenport–    Slum Gullion Stomp 3:09
Piano [Solo] – Cow Cow Davenport
5    Memphis Sam And John–    It's Just All Right 3:00
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
Vocals [Duet] – Cow Cow Davenport, Sam Tarpley
6    Memphis Sam And John–    Everybody Likes That Thing 3:04
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
Vocals [Duet] – Ivy Smith, Sam Tarpley
7    Charlie Davenport And Ivy Smith–    He Don't Mean Me No Harm 3:02
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
Vocals [Duet] – Cow Cow Davenport, Ivy Smith
8    Charlie Davenport And Ivy Smith–    You Got Another Thought Coming To You 2:45
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
Vocals [Duet] – Cow Cow Davenport, Ivy Smith
9    Charlie Davenport And Ivy Smith–    Now She Gives It Away 2:52
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
Vocals [Duet] – Cow Cow Davenport, Ivy Smith
10    Cow Cow Davenport–    Don't You Loud Mouth Me 2:33
Double Bass [Stand Up Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Flugelhorn – Joe Bishop
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
11    Cow Cow Davenport–    I Ain't No Ice Man 2:43
Double Bass [Stand Up Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Flugelhorn – Joe Bishop
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
12    Cow Cow Davenport–    The Mess Is Here 2:43
Double Bass [Stand Up Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Flugelhorn – Joe Bishop
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
13    Cow Cow Davenport–    Railroad Blues 2:40
Double Bass [Stand Up Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Flugelhorn – Joe Bishop
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
14    Cow Cow Davenport–    That'll Get It 2:35
Double Bass [Stand Up Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Flugelhorn – Joe Bishop
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
15    Cow Cow Davenport–    Jump Little Jitterbug 2:54
Piano, Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
16    Cow Cow Davenport–    Gotta Girl For Every Day Of The Week 3:06
Piano, Vocals – Cow Cow Davenport
17    Cow Cow Davenport–    Jeep Boogie 2:55
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
18    Cow Cow Davenport–    Chimin' Away 2:52
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
19    Cow Cow Davenport–    Hobson City Stomp 2:54
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
20    Cow Cow Davenport–    Run Into Me 2:58
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
21    Cow Cow Davenport–    "Cow Cow's" Stomp 3:03
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport
22    Cow Cow Davenport–    Gin Mill Stomp 2:52
Piano – Cow Cow Davenport

LEROY CARR — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 • 1928-1929 | DOCD-5134 (1992) RM | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Completists, specialists and academics take note -- Document's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1928-1929) offers an exhaustive overview of Leroy Carr's early recordings. Less dedicated listeners will probably find the long running time, exacting chronological sequencing, poor fidelity (all cuts are transferred from original acetates and 78s), and number of performances a bit off-putting, even though the serious blues listener will find all these factors to be positive. Thom Owens

The little that is known of Leroy Carr‘s early life was garnered by Duncan Schiedt in the late fifties when he interviewed his sister, Eva Mae, and Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell. Carr was born in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27th 1905, the son of John Carr and his wife Katie Dozier. The family moved to Indianapolis when he was six and his sister recalled that when he was a young teenager a pianist came play at the Pot Roast club and Leroy copied what he’d heard being played at the club on her piano at home. By the time he was twenty he was a proficient singer-pianist. His early life is typically obscure but it is known that he joined a travelling circus and even served in the army at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Duncan Schiedt was shown a photograph in the possession of his sister of the young Carr in full army uniform holding his discharge papers. At some point a music store owner named Guernsey introduced him to guitarist Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell and they formed a piano and guitar duo. In June 1928 Vocalion sent a field unit to Indianapolis to record, probably, Blackwell who pointed them in the direction of Carr. On 28th June, at the age of 23, Leroy Carr, accompanied by Blackwell recorded My Own Lonesome Blues and How Long How Long which were released two months later on Vocalion 1191. How Long, How Long was the lead side and the record became an instant success. For a record to be successful back then probably meant sales were in the region of ten thousand copies. The tune was unforgettable as was Carr’s mournful vocal even though the lyric had its root in an Ida Cox song and the structure was that of Crow Jane. So popular did the song become that the pair were recalled to the Chicago studio the following month. On 20th July they cut three titles each, none of which saw release, and they returned the following month for another attempt. Of Carr’s eight titles all but two were released and those all maintained the plaintive, nostalgic air, of his first record. “My home ain’t here, it’s in dear old Tennessee”, he lamented in “Tennessee Blues” and to a train rhythm played with the left hand and assorted railroad imitations, Mean Old Train Blues, carried the “How Long” theme further,

“Number One’s at the Station, Number Two out on the road, I keep on wonderin’ where did my baby go”.

Twenty years later the song was successfully re-cut by Cecil Gant as Train Time. For You’ve Got To Reap What You Sow Carr and Blackwell adopted a new melody which prominently featured Scrapper’s guitar. This melody was used two years later by the Mississippi Sheiks for their recording Sittin’ On Top Of The World. That November / December saw a similar pattern of recording – one abortive session followed by a successful retry which included two remodeled versions of How Long. Over the next six years there were to be a further three variations on the How Long theme (which will be covered in future releases in this series). The December session produced Prison Bound, based on his experiences in the Indiana State Farm. In later years the song became synonymous with Josh White and much copied by Piedmont artists. The following February, Carr recorded eleven titles only three, however, saw commercial release one being his crooning rendition of Irving Berlin‘s popular song, How About Me?. Eight of the eleven were remade in March and one of the releases was the two part Straight Alky Blues. For a relatively young man Leroy Carr was an inveterate drinker and his observations on the effect of drinking neat alcohol are frighteningly well observed. His addiction to alcohol was eventually to end his life at the all too young age of thirty.  DOCD-5134
Tracklist :
1        My Own Lonesome Blues    3:02
2        How Long -- How Long Blues    3:05
3        Broken Spoke Blues    2:57
4        Tennessee Blues    3:00
5        Truthful Blues    2:53
6        Mean Old Train Blues    2:59
7        You Got To Reap What You Sow    2:49
8        Low Down Dirty Blues    3:04
9        How Long, How Long Blues -- No. 2    2:44
10        How Long, How Long Blues -- Part 3    3:08
11        Baby, Don't You Love Me No More?    3:11
12        Tired Of Your Low Down Ways    3:10
13        I'm Going Away And Leave My Baby    3:05
14        Prison Bound Blues    3:05
15        You Don't Mean Me No Good    3:13
16        How About Me?    3:26
17        Straight Alky Blues -- Part 1    2:59
18        Think Of Me Thinking Of You    3:04
19        The Truth About The Thing    3:13
20        Straight Alky Blues -- Part I    3:20
21        Straight Alky Blues -- Part II    3:19
22        Lifeboat Blues    2:57
23        Gambler's Blues    3:05
24        There Ain't Nobody Got It Like She's Got It    3:19
Credits :
Guitar – Scrapper Blackwell
Kazoo – Unknown Artist (tracks: 19)
Liner Notes – Alan Balfour
Vocals, Piano – Leroy Carr